Good Friends

Last weekend, Karley Mae did what she does best: she got everyone together. We all need people in friend groups like Karley. We'd never see one another or do anything fun without her.

We drove out to New Buffalo, Michigan (adorable little beach town just over the border) for a camping trip and a day at the beach. Let it be known to the world that I DID GO TO THE BEACH THIS SUMMER. For once. Last year with the chaos after TFA Institute my only day at the beach was on Labor Day. This year I now officially went to the beach in July. At least once. We made pudgy pies (yum), played board games, slept in a 10-person tent (it pays to have friends who receive cool wedding presents), hung out at the beach (the freckles are back, people), ate at Redamaks, and sat around a bonfire with good friends That, to me, is bliss. 

I needed this kind of thing in my summer so badly because I was starting to feel a general aura of melancholy at the shortness of my break. I ended teaching on June 19th and go back to school July 24th. The kids' first day of school is August 1st. So, yep, four weeks of summer for me. And then beyond that, I decided it would be a good idea to take a class this summer for grad school. I'm sure I'll be glad I did it, so that I have less coursework to worry about during the school year, but it took away that summer feeling of freedom that I had been looking forward to so earnestly during that last stretch of teaching. I was starting to think that summer wouldn't deliver on its promise.

What I've found now is that it's not about getting long, uninterrupted time in which to waste away and do nothing. I don't need that. I need moments and breaks in the chaos with good friends. With good people. When I can find moments like those, my brain can start to decompress. Even though, in June, I was looking at the schedule ahead of me and thought that summer was starting to be a figment of my imagination, I've found this time to be so wonderful. Even when I'm busy and even when I have work to do and even when I'm watching the days fly by. All you need are some good friends.